Partnering in Preparedness to Create Safe to Learn Community Lamar Consolidated Independent School District

Pictured with her students is Principal Irma Nurre from Wertheimer Middle School. She is the Safe to Learn Pilot Project Coordinator for Lamar Consolidated Independent School District, Rosenberg, Texas.

Our parent company, Visual Imagry, Inc., has been working with Lamar Consolidated Independent School District (LCISD), located near Houston, Texas, since 2010 developing a web-based emergency planning system for each campus via VIPlanning Software & Online Services. The initial project included communicating each year with principals and assistant principals to update their school’s web-based Emergency Operations Plan (EOP). These annual updates include gathering information and coordinating changes such as updating contact information for School Crisis Teams, campus phone trees, buddy lists, school resources lists and staff skills inventories.

As we communicated with each principal and/or assistant principal, they started asking questions about simple ways to increase the scope of their campus safety programs. This honest sharing of information provided an opportunity for open discussions and discovery about what types of information could be provided that would augment their campus safety programs, as well as reinforce the District's current safety plans.

In 2011, I had the opportunity to complete an independent research study, Balancing School Safety and Academic Goals at Lamar Consolidated Independent School District. The information gathered was used to help identify specific information that could be used to supplement the District’s school safety programs. The results were shared with others involved in school safety programs or special projects. This open style of communication and sharing of information helped to reinforce and build an even stronger foundation for school safety within their District. The ideas, suggestions and questions provided by principals and assistant principals also helped in the development of six Leadership & Safety Series eBooks.

By 2013 a group of principals and assistant principals from LCISD volunteered to participate in an intense Pilot Project to review the original Leadership & Safety Series eBooks and provide suggestions for expanding the Safe to Learn Community Project. The first LCISD Pilot Project Team Leader was Assistant Principal Rebecca Shultz, who helped guide the first phase of the Pilot Project. In 2014 Principal Irma Nurre was selected as the LCISD Team Leader for the Safe to Learn Community Pilot Project and has guided the Pilot Project, along with the leadership and support of Trudy Harris, Assistant Director of Employee Benefits and Risk Management from LCISD.﻿Principal Irma Nurre, LCISD Team Leader for the Safe to Learn Community Pilot Project for 2014-2017.﻿LCISD Safe to Learn Project Team | Lamar Pilot Project Team Leader Irma Nurre

Our research team also discovered that the principals and assistant principals, who participated in the study and the training, demonstrated a true commitment to school safety at each of their schools. Communication on weekends, during holidays and in the evenings with principals and assistant principals indicated dedication to the common goal of doing everything possible to balance academic goals and school safety. It is through listening, teamwork, trust and respect that the Safe to Learn Community Projectevolved into what it is today.by Dolores E. Beaugez, Founder of the Safe to Learn Project

“Safety and security don’t just happen; they are the result of collective consensus and public investment. We owe our children, the most vulnerable citizens in our society, a life free of violence and fear.”~ Nelson Mandela, former president of South Africa